Vending machine



June 2, 1936. B. w. FRY 2,042,710

VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l a. w. FRY

\ VENDING MACHINE June 2, 1936.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 25, 1936 v Patented June 2, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENDING momma Benjamin w. Fry, St. ms, Mo. Application January 25, 1936, Serial No. 60,803

2 Claims. (01. 312-35) This invention relates to improvements in "vending machines, and more particularly to that type used in vending cigarettes, and it is my I purpose to construct such a machine that will 515 not only vend the cigarettes, but at the same time supply the purchaser with a packet of matches at the time of purchase, without any cost to him. v My device is so constructed that the delivery of the package of cigarettes will actuate a mechanism which in turn will cause the delivery of the matches, the match delivery mechanism being so arranged that in event of the clogging 'of the match supply container, or magazine, the delivery of the package of cigarettes will not be affected; in other words, the delivery of packages of cigarettes will continue, as this part of the vending apparatus is not dependent on the delivery of the matches at the time of a sale.

i Fig. '1 is a vertical cross-section of a cigarette ver'iding machine with the upper part broken away, and showing the mechanism employed for delivering the packages of cigarettes and matches. f Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical, longitudinal,

2 sectional view of the same taken on line 2-2 of .Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, I represents the back wall of a casing, 2 the front wall, .and'3 the end walls of the casing. The front wall a -is' provided with one or more windows 4, the

lower portion 5 of the front wall extending forwardly in a horizontal direction as shown in Fig. 1. Extending downwardly is a vertical portion 6, and extending rearwardly from the portion 6 and parallel to the portion 5 is a portion I which is provided with a slot 8, the purpose of which will 'be explained later. The portion I is provided at its rear edge with a downwardly and forwardly inclined portion 9 which is provided with a slot 1 I0. At the lower end of the portion 9 is a vertically extending portion II, which is then ex- :tended forwardly in a horizontal direction as indicated by the numeral I2. It is to be understood -that the portions 2, 5, 6, I, 9, II, and I2 extend the full length of the machine, or rather between the end walls 3. I may also, if desired, make the portions 1, 9, I I, and I2 separate and secure them to the end walls 3 without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Secured to the side members 3 is a member I3 having its forward portion l4 extending substantially horizontally, and terminating at the front of the casing and having its rear portion l5 extending rearwardly and upwardly so as to 755 form an inclined chute for the vended article, or

package of cigarettes. Resting on the member I v is a bar I6 which has its ends I! upturned, and

to the upturned ends I! are attached the front ends of bars I8 whichjextend rearwardly, the rear ends of the bars I8 being inturned as at I9, 5 whic gends are secured to the vertical portion 20 of a -ear bar, which bar is provided with a horizontal portion or package support 2| extending forwardly, and with a portion or apron 22 extending forwardly and downwardly and in front of the upper edge of the chute or portion I5. Attached to the portion 20 of the bar is one end of a coil spring 23, the opposite end of the spring being secured in an eye 24 formed on or secured to the back wall I. I may, if desired, use two or more of the springs 23, this of course depending on the size of the vending machine, the springs 23 being so arranged that the rectangular frame formed by the bars I6, I8 and the rear bar will move forward and backward only. To cause the pan 2| to move horizontally only and to prevent it from dropping, a pin 52 is provided in the bar I8, which pin projects through av slot 53 provided in the end wall 3. Only one pin 52 and one bar I8 are illustrated in the drawings at one side of the 25 pan 2|, but it is understood, of course, that a similar pin 52 and a similar bar I8 (not shown) are provided at the opposite side of the pan 2|, and that said pin 52 which is not shown also projects through a slot provided for its reception in the other end wall, also not shown.

Located on the portion 1, which may be termed the table, is an ejector 25, and located immediately above the ejector is a vertical magazine 26 having a rear wall 21 and side walls 28, the front edges of the side walls 28 being bent inwardly forming flanges 29, so that the packages of cigarettes in the magazine 26 will be retained in position by the rear and side walls and flanges, but the contents of the magazine will be in plain view through the window 4. The rear wall 21 has its lower end terminating some distance above the table I so that a package of cigarettes can pass freely thereunder when said package rests on the table I, but low enough so that two packages cannot be removed from the magazine at one time. The ejector 25 has the front portion of its bottom cut away so as to leave a shoulder 38 against which the rear edge of the bar I6 abuts, this shoulder being back far enough so that the entire width of the bar is covered by the ejector 25, and therefore the bar I6 cannot tilt. Projecting from the bottom of the ejector 25 and extending from the shoulder 30 to the rear edge of the ejector 25 is a T-shaped member or tongue slidably securing the ejector 25' to the table Projecting forwardly from the ejector 251s a rod 32 which extends through the vertical portion 6 and which is provided on its end with a knob or grip 33, this knob or grip also tending to limit the rearward movement of the ejector.

Extending between the walls 3 and to the rear of the cigarette magazine 25 is a channel-shaped member 34, on which is supported a match magazine 35 which has a rear wall 36 and'side walls 31. The side walls are provided with inwardly projecting flanges 38 which serve to retain the match packets within the magazine 35 and at the same time permit a view of its contents. The lower portion of the back wall is cut away so as to leave an opening 39 of such size that only one packet of matches can pus out of the magazine at a time.

That portion of the channel which serves as a bottom for the match magazine is inclined downwardly and rearwardly, and is provided with parallel slots 40 which also extend partway into the front member of the channel. -A rod or shaft 4| is carried by the end walls 3 and is located to the rear of the cigarette package magazine 26, andon this rod is carried a lever 42 having its lower end 43 projecting'below the loweredge of the magazine wall 21, so that a package of ciga- I rettes upon being moved rearwardly by the ejector 25 will move the lower part of the lever rearwardly into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The upper end of the lever 42 is bifurcated, forming fingers 44, the upper ends of which are bent over as at 45 and which project through the slots 40 and into the match magazine 35. Between the fingers 44 and at their bases or where they join the lever 42 is a tongue 46, which is bent into a hook and to which one end of a coil spring 41 is fastened, the opposite end of this spring being secured to the rear, depending portion of the channel 34. A short distance below the bifurcation a tongue 48 is struck out of the body portion of the lever 42, which is bent backward and upward to partially encircle the shaft 4|, and forms a bearing for the lever so that it can rock onsaid shaft. The lever 42 is held on the shaft by reason of the spring 41 pulling upwardly, and the side shifting of the lever 42 on the shaft 4| is prevented by the pull of this spring and also by reason of the fingers 44 passing through the slots 40. Secured to the rear wall I of the casing is a plate 49 extending between the walls 3, the lower portion 50 of this plate extending downwardly and forwardly and serving as a chute to direct a packet of matches onto the chute l5. The upper portion 5| of the plate 49 extends in a forwardly direction and contacts the match magazine 35 on its rear wall 36, thereby serving as a brace for the magazine 35 and the channel 34.

It is to be understood, of course, that the casing contains several magazines, both for cigarettes and matches, a nd that there is a separate ejector 25 for each cigarette magazine 26 and a separate lever 42 for each match magazine 35.

The operation of my device is as follows, it being understood that all of the magazines for cigarettes have been filled and all of the magazines for matches have had packets of matches placed therein. A coin is inserted in the machine through the usual slot, which coin releases the vending a. so that it can be operated. The knob 33 is grasped and pulled forwardly, and this will move the rod 32 forwardly and draw with it the ejector 25. The bar l6, by reason of its contact with the shoulder 30 on the ejector, is 6 ,moved forwardly and, through the bars [8, draws the rear member forward, placing the coil spring or springs 23 under tension; inother words, the

entire frame is drawn forward, theforward move- 'ment being continued until the portion 22 of the 10 rear member contacts the portion 9 of the table I, when the portion 2| of the rear member acts as a continuation of the table. When this point has been reached, the rear edge of the ejector 25 has just passed the front of the magazine 25, and the packages of cigarettes, being no longer supported by the ejector 25 as was previously the case, move downwardly so that the lowest package now rests on the table 1 and the portion or package support 2|' of the rear member of the frame. During this time the lever 42 has remained in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the fingers 44 at the rear ends of the slots 40.

The knob 33 is now released and the spring or springs 23 draw the entire frame backwardly and with it the ejector 25 that has been drawn forward. As the ejector moves back it pushes the package of cigarettes along and under the back 21. The portion 2| of the rear member continues to support the rear end of the package as it moves 30 the rearward movement the package of cigarettes comes in contact with the lower end 43 of the lever 42, swinging it around on the shaft 4| into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and as the end moves rearwardly the fingers 44 move forward through the slots 40 and in so doing. swing through an arc, which will have a tendency to' rock the packages of matches in their magazine and assist in their downward travel. The fingers 44 swing far enough forward to clear the front edges of the lowest packet of matches. The swinging of the lever 42 places the spring 41 under tension by expanding it, and this in turn will cause the end 43 of the'lever 42 to exert a 45 downward pressure on the package of cigarettes.

As soon as the front edge of the package slides off of the-rear end of the table I, this end being no longer supported commences to drop down,

and the end 43 of the lever 42, pressing on the 60 upper surface of the package of cigarettes at a point in front of the forward edge of the horizontal portion 2| (see Fig. 1), assists in forcing the free or unsupported end of the package downwardly, in other words, assists in the delivery of 55 the package; and as the package drops on the chute IS, the spring '41 pulls the lever 42 back to its starting position, causing the fingers 44 to travel rearwardly and in so doing push a packet of matches from the magazine and out through 60 the opening 39, where it drops on the inclined. portion or chute 50 and from thence down the v chute l5, thus following the package of ciga- It will be noted that should the packets of 70 matches become clogged in their magazine, or assume such a position that the lever 42 cannot return to its starting position, the ejector mechanism can still function, as the delivery of the packages of cigarettes is not dependent in any 76 way on the operation of the match packet dispenser.

It will also be noted that the bar I6 is in no way attached to the ejectors, so that when one ejector is operated the bar will pass from under.

the ejectors not being moved, as the bar depends on its forward movement solely on contact between its rear edge and the shoulder 30 on the ejector. It will also be noted that the ejector moves the frame while being pulled forward, and that the frame moves the ejector on the return movement, also that the table 1 does not extend back the full depth of the magazine 26, so that when the ejector is drawn forward its fullest extent and the package of cigarettes moves down onto the table the rear portion of the package comes to rest on the portion or package support M of the rear member of the frame. Thus the package is supported at both ends during its passage into the final delivery position, and is thereby enabled to operate the lever 42 in the manner previously described. g

The T-member 3| not only serves as a guide for the ejector 25 by preventing side movement thereof, but also looks the ejector to the table tov prevent any lifting tendency which the frame may exert on the ejector when in the rearmost position, as then only the forward portion of the frame is supported by the table, the rear portion being unsupported.

I claim:

1. A cigarette-vending machine comprising a casing, cigarette package and match packet magazines located in said casing, a cigarette package ejector located below the cigarette package magaazine, means for operating said ejector back and forth, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends in said casing, the upper end of said lever extending into the lower end of the match packet 5 magazine and its lower end in the path of travel of a package of cigarettes while being moved by the ejector, whereby said lever is moved on its pivot while a cigarette package is being discharged from the magazine, and: means for returning said lever to its starting position, whereby the lower end of said lever exertsa discharging pressure against the package of cigarettes and the upper end of said lever will discharge a. packet of matches from its magazine.

2. A cigarette-vending machine comprising a cigarette package magazine and a match packet magazine located at the rear of said cigarette package magazine, both of said magazines being located within said casing, a table located in said casing and below said magazines, an ejector slidably mounted on said table, means for moving said ejector forwardly, a frame movable with said ejector located within said casing and provided along its rear member with a package support, a lever pivotally mounted below said match packet magazine and having its lower extremity adapted to be moved by a cigarette package when same is being discharged and its upper extremity adapted to discharge a packet of matches, and means secured to said frame and casing for returning the frame and ejector to their starting positions.

BENJAIWIN W. FRY. 

